Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 91,756 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 2,037 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $27,541,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pitcairn Co. boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.4% in the first quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 875 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,495 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,779,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.7% in the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 742 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.3% in the second quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 1,499 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $494,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.9% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,174 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $860,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total value of $218,211.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,931.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST stock opened at $327.68 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 3.00. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $265.00 and a fifty-two week high of $413.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $304.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $316.41. The company has a market capitalization of $23.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.62, a PEG ratio of 24.51 and a beta of 1.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. The business’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.16 earnings per share. Analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.46%.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells containment and delivery systems for injectable drugs and healthcare products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in two segments, Proprietary Products and Contract-Manufactured Products.